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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29712534">Of Retired Priests and Vacationing Gods</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_wolf1249/pseuds/silver_wolf1249'>silver_wolf1249</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ace is also not human, Ace is also old, Alternate Universe - Gods &amp; Goddesses, But later he gets it, Canon Universe, Gen, Identity Reveal, Marco is Old ok, Priests, Whitebeards are Confused, neither are his brothers, so is marco</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:48:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,726</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29712534</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_wolf1249/pseuds/silver_wolf1249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco has woken up two hours before before dawn every single day of his life without fail, from a job whose habits remained when the job no longer existed. And then Portgas D Ace, who brims with a familiarity from Marco's past,  joins the Whitebeard Pirates. </p>
<p>Or Ace is a old god enjoying his time in the mortal realm and Marco hasn't been a priest in ages why is this happening to him now.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco &amp; Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy &amp; Portgas D. Ace &amp; Sabo, Portgas D. Ace &amp; Whitebeard Pirates, mentioned</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>161</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Of Retired Priests and Vacationing Gods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspired by</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <a href="https://deepwaterwritingprompts.tumblr.com/">deepwaterprompts</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>#2133: "My family is plagued by insomnia, rising hours before dawn as if on command. Grandpa says we’re punching a time card, for a job that hasn’t existed in centuries."</p>
<p>I kind of saw it formed a half formed idea based on it and tried my best lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was an unfortunate habit, always waking exactly two hours before dawn no matter how much or little he had slept the night prior. Even though Marco had attempted for ages to shake off this quirk of his, it was all to no avail. His brothers loved to tease him for being such an “early bird”, and he usually took the teasing with good cheer. However, there were times where it just rubbed him the wrong way, causing him to become waspish at anyone who dared mention it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His early wake time was a distant remnant of who he once was, of who he once served, of his job that hadn’t existed for centuries. All Marco had left now was this awful need to wake up at the same godforsaken time each day, his scattered memories, and his Devil Fruit abilities that had kept him alive for so long. For the longest time, he thought that’s all he would ever have of his now long distant past.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But then Ace is brought aboard to join the crew, and Marco isn’t sure how to feel about it. He’s not blind, he may have forgotten much due to his long lifespan, but his senses are still finely honed. He knows that Ace is connected to his past, to the</span>
  <em>
    <span> lost ones</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he’s just not sure how. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Try as he might, he can’t shake off the feeling of familiarity towards the young man whose body brims with the otherworldly. Somehow, the others don’t seem to notice the latter, not even Oyaji. Marco is suddenly struck by the fact he forgets that mortals nowadays no longer believe in gods. Nor would he, he supposed, had he been a normal mortal.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>After the stubborn pirate finally joined the crew, Marco was still uneasy even as Ace integrated well with the others. Most days, he made sure that he would not run into the raven haired man any more than necessary, and most of the Commanders noticed. They badger him, asking why he avoided Ace even though he was a crucial factor in their youngest joining them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde does not have the heart to tell them he had been kind to make sure the potential threat to their family would decide not to enact some sort of reckless revenge upon him. They never would’ve believed him anyway, he was sure, for once Ace opened up to the crew it seemed obvious that he was a good soul at heart. Marco knew better, the</span>
  <em>
    <span> lost ones</span>
  </em>
  <span> were known to easily change their emotions at the drop of a hat, and they often came with dire consequences.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And yet, as time passed, and Ace continued to sail with them, Marco began to change his mind. The young man was indeed temperamental and could raise hell if incited, but he was also fiercely caring and loyal, and brought a breath of fresh air onto the ship with his recklessness and his heart. Unsurprisingly, he was quickly promoted to Second Division Captain unanimously and soon began to settle into his new position. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, as Marco had to meet up with him more and more for day to day business and then purely to hang out together, he began to relax. He thought to himself that perhaps he had been mistaken, and that Ace might be a powerful descendent rather than a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost one</span>
  </em>
  <span> himself. He was sadly incorrect.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Thattchhh,” Ace whined, head down on the table in front of him, “How does Marco wake up so early every morning? Seriously it’s amazing how no matter how early I wake up, he’s always awake before me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From where he was prepping for dinner that evening, the pompadoured man chuckled, “Don’t even bother trying! The birdie always wakes up exactly two hours before dawn, no matter what circumstances he’s in. According to Pops, he’s been doing it even before he joined him. No one really knows why, whenever anyone asks he gets all hissy about it. The only thing we do know is that it’s an old habit of his from his island where he had to get up super early for stuff, so it just kinda kept even years away from home.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Turning back to grab a bowl from the cupboards, Thatch noticed the raven haired man now sitting straight up. His eyes look contemplative, his lips loosely pursed, brows furrowed as he asks, now serious, “Hey Thatch, I don’t suppose you know what island Marco’s from, do you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A little surprised at the question, the redhead pauses in his work, “What island? I mean, I don’t think even Oyaji knows which island Marco is originally from. Apparently he just found Marco drifting about on a boat one day and decided that he would join. Why do you ask?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking his head, Ace waved away Thatch’s question, face becoming oddly bright and sunny suddenly. “Nothing at all.” he smiled, “It just seemed familiar to me for a custom some people on an island I know about, but I must be overthinking things. It’s not that rare a practice after all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He got up, waving his goodbye as he left the kitchen. Once outside, he gently closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway. Voice lowering to barely a whisper, Ace murmured to himself, “I really must be overthinking this. After all, there’s no way a normal human could live that long.”</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, the small conversation he had had with Thatch spreads, and he’s not exactly sure why. It seems, however, that people are dying to know potential leads to Marco’s origins, no matter how small the lead may be. “So,” Haruta questioned at the Commander’s table one day, “What island did you think Marco came from?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beside him, Marco lifted an eyebrow, “What are you talking about, yoi?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From across the table, Izou sighed, “Word got around that Ace apparently knows of an island that has a similar way of waking up so exactly early like you. Everyone got curious to know whether it might actually be the island that you’re from. You know the betting pools, any piece of information could help someone earn some serious belli.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Snorting, the blonde rolled his eyes, “I doubt he’ll get the right answer. A location based on a sleeping habit is just grasping at straws.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A sound comes from Ace throat that sounds a little like a growl and some kind of slurred roll of his tongue. He looks a little annoyed, but oddly enough, it’s Marco’s reaction that catches everyone’s eye. The man looked petrified in his seat, his face paling as he stared at the other pirate. “How do you know that name.” he manages to stammer out shakily, “How-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So I was right.” the freckled man commented, face filling with wonder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As everyone's confusion only grew, Ace began to make noises that they were pretty sure were impossible for the human vocal cords to produce. Burrs and clicks mixed with hums, with the rare vowels, and jumbled consonants. Things got even more confusing when Marco started to respond back with his own foreign sounds, and by now they held the attention of everyone in the dining room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marco’s facial expressions are all over the place, excited and happy one moment, mourning in another, and horrified the next. The Whitebeards thought things couldn’t get any weirder than that until the First Commander stood from his seat to kneel with his head down on the ground in front of the raven haired man. They could barely hear his voice becoming rushed and apologetic as Ace also stood with a loud clatter, immediately pulling the other man up shouting back in their shared  tongue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What is going on.” Whitebeard boomed from his seat, and the two stopped whatever conversation they were having to look at their father. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing, Oyaji!” Ace exclaimed, eyes shifting about the room wildly, “Simply a, ahh, small issue of sorts.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde stared incredulously at the shorter man, “A small issue?” he finally sputtered, “A small issue, yoi? You-you?!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay so maybe not so small an issue.” Ace relented, looking a little guilty, “But this is totally unrelated to crew matters so-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t tell me your brothers are also around, are they, yoi?” Marco hissed, “All three of you walking arou-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Would you please just shut up Marco!” Ace exclaimed, a little frustrated now, before looking back at their father.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he opened his mouth to speak, Marco interrupted him once more, “We need to talk. Now, yoi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And with that, the blonde motioned to the door with his head and stalked out of the room. Taking a deep breath, Ace attempted to bring his roiling emotions under control. “So, what was that about?” Jozu asked tentatively.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I know what island Marco’s from, everyone. You all lost the bet by the way.” Ace eventually spoke, looking like he was seconds away from smashing his head into a table, “Now I gotta go calm down a priest.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Speechlessly, the crowd watched as the young man stomped out the door as well before looking around at each other. “So, that, uhh, that happened.” Thatch said aloud in the silence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A priest?” someone from the crowd questioned, “Commander Marco’s not a priest though?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It seems prudent that we wait for them to speak to each other in privacy first.” Whitebeard declared, “After which we may receive some better answers.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nodding, the room continued to talk about what had just occurred, people chatting and gossiping possible ideas and theories. Of course, Thatch and Haruta opened up several new betting pools as a result.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>“So you, a god, one of the trinity in matter of fact, are currently on a vacation with the other in the trinity, in the mortal realm, yoi?” Marco questioned haltingly, trying to clarify the situation for himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two are in Marco’s room, and before him Ace nods furiously in agreement. Slowly, the blonde reached up to massage the bridge of his nose, and decided he was not sober enough for the conversation. Upsettingly, he had to remain so because alcohol sadly had no effect on him anymore.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It really has been so long since I’ve seen any worshipper of mine, let alone a priest.” Ace commented idly, “When my brothers and I still received direct prayers after so long, even so rarely as you did it, we were pretty shocked. We were so sure all humans had already forgotten us. I can’t believe it was you all along. Your fruit has a much larger effect on your lifespan than I originally thought.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Becoming apologetic, Ace hung his head slightly, ”I’m sorry to say I couldn’t grant your prayers for the most part, and my brothers didn’t have enough strength to grant the ones not within their domain. I did hear them though, even as trapped as I was at the time. I had been...weakened severely back in the day when we were still worshipped. I slumbered for centuries as my siblings helped handle my domain. But at some point...they figured out a way to wake me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He paused, a soft smile on his face, and Marco looked attentively at the god. He drank in the sight, still amazed at how the deity had managed to exist for so long. “And waking you turned you into a human?” Marco wondered aloud, to which the Second Commander began to laugh softly to himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, my dear priest.” he replied mirthfully after his laughter had died down, “Being in human form is quite different from being actually human, though I was born from a human if that’s what you meant. It’s much easier to say that you ate a logia fruit rather than say that you are a sun god in human form keeping it on the downlow. My youngest brother however, in his stupidity did actually eat a devil fruit. The gomu gomu no mi, if you can believe it. We’re still unsure how his divinity might affect anything about his new abilities. But no, this is merely...a vacation like you said I suppose. A time for rest after I had been awakened after so long.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see, yoi.” the blonde responded, before his eyes hardened, “And what exactly are your intentions, Lord of the Everlasting Flame?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The other pirate snorted a little, waving a hand, “No need for titles, not anymore. I’m pretty sure you’re the last who even knows of them. My brothers and I have been weakened as faith died out, and my old injuries still affect me. As for my intentions, well, it is simply to live among the humans without regrets. I won’t go violent or anything, Marco, I don’t want to harm anyone here, and I won’t. I can swear a sacred oath to that if you don’t believe me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling himself collapse onto the bed behind him, Marco felt like strings attached to his limbs had just been cut. “No.” he managed, “No, I trust you, and I apologize, yoi. I was just...surprised. I never expected anything from my past to come out of hiding, let alone an actual </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost one</span>
  </em>
  <span> themselves. Who I suppose aren’t that lost.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking his head, Ace disagreed, “It’s fine, I understand. It’s a pretty big shock after all.” he responded, before his speech took upon a melancholic tone, “I actually find that the term</span>
  <em>
    <span> lost ones</span>
  </em>
  <span> is quite accurate when not about my brothers and I. The others have all disappeared long ago. I presume the only reason we have managed to remain existing despite the lack of faith is simply because our domains are too vast. Even if people don’t pray to me specifically, as long as their prayers target one of my domains, I can extract a tiny portion of faith to absorb to maintain myself. I may no longer have such grand abilities I once had, but I found that it’s not so bad like this either.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Trickling back to him slowly like water escaping a leaky drain, the knowledge came back into Marco’s brain slowly. The trinity, a trio of sworn brothers amongst the strongest of deities. They reigned over the sky, as well as their other domains, and had been greatly respected by the people. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marco had been a priest of the eldest of the trinity, Aasis, or Ace now he supposed, god of the sun and of war, of the hunt and the harvest. Then there was the second eldest, Salos, god of the moon and knowledge, of justice and therefore, truth. Finally there was Luftus, the youngest of the three gods. He ruled over the stars, the god of travelers and freedom, of friendship and found family. All three held influence over the weather, sharing that particular domain between themselves.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And with that information now swirling about his mind as well, a quiet settled over the two of them. Taking a few deep breaths to organize himself, Marco nodded and turned to the one of the only living beings older than he was, “Ok, then.” he said aloud to himself, “Ok, then. I think I’m fine now, yoi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at Ace, who looked a little doubtful at the statement, “Are you going to tell Oyaji?” the blonde queried, “Because if you’re not then we’re going to have to concoct some sort of reasoning to explain the scene back there, yoi.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The raven haired god frowned a little, uncertain, “If I told Oyaji I know he would shut down anyone who mentioned it.” he mused, “But I feel like at least the other Commanders should know too. It’s not exactly pertinent information, not anymore, but who knows if something might come up about it. At least if the Commanders know they’ll know what to do.”</span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<span>As they sat and discussed how they wanted to go about this, Marco felt that the situation was a bit laughable. A weakened god on vacation and a practically immortal retired priest that were both now pirates on the same ship under the same captain. It was like the beginning to some bad joke. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘And yet’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought to himself idly as he continued to explain how they would tell the Commanders and Oyaji without giving them a heart attack in the process, ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t think I would have it any other way.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Bruh, I don't even know, I kind of saw a prompt and was like ooh shiny toy let's play with it. Not entirely sure if it worked out or not though. Debated between following the prompt better or just using my halfbaked idea when I first saw it and decided on the latter. But also look at me go, with these not drabbles that keep getting out of hand...at least I comfort myself with that it's a bit shorter than the last one. *sigh* It was only like 1k before I started editing and then boom, over 2k, it's amazing how I love to torture myself. I might as well start a series for all my Ace AUs that aren't actually drabbles like I keep telling myself to write at this rate lol.</p>
<p>Also, this was also kind of intended to be a multi chaptered or serialized work, and I couldn't really smash it into just a oneshot which is why it might seem kind of....clunky and weirdly paced. Either that or my horrible sleep deprivation whilst writing and editing it's a little hard to tell. Honestly I might come back to this to either rework it or give it more chapters when I actually have time to dedicate and expand on this idea properly, but it'll stay a oneshot for now. Hope you enjoyed the idea though, leave a comment to tell me what you think lol.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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